I have a great red lentil curry recipe, but it's the only thing I've ever used red lentils for. I discovered 2 Trader Joes packages of the things, though, and want to use them up, so I hit Pinterest for an option. I'm not totally sure what the differences are between red lentil and any other color, but I like them and they're prettier, so we'll go with that! This recipe uses the crockpot, which is always a good option, and is super easy.

Put everything in the crockpot. Cook on Low 8-10 hours, High 4-5 hours.

Just an aside - why does no recipe ever created use ALL of a 6oz can of tomato paste?? And does anyone EVER use that little bit of leftover paste?? ugh.

I like my veggies chunky, so they're bigger than the ones in the original recipe's photo. :)

RP Servings: 6

RATING: as written, 2 1/2 stars. With the tweaks below, 3 1/2 starsFirst, this smelled AMAZING.Second, 4 hours on High didn't come close to softening the veggies or half the lentils.Third, not nearly enough salt or other seasonings.Fourth, not enough broth - it was more like a stew than a soup.

So, the tweaks, which were easy enough!* Added about 16 oz more broth* Added a couple of teaspoons of sea salt* Added another 1/2 tsp of cumin* Added more black pepper* Added about 1/4 tsp of garlic powder* Added about 1/4 tsp of cayenne (a little at a time so as not to overdo!)* Cooked another 2 hours on High

With the added tweaks, it's quite good! Mostly it was too thick, too underdone, and too bland as written, but overall not bad. MOST LIKELY I wouldn't add basil next time, and I'm really glad I didn't add thyme. The three spices struck me as an odd combination from the start -- I think I'd steer this more Indian next time, and use a curry mix. But with my tweaks, it was a good lunch the next day!

No wait, yes I do. Every single person who has looked at these pictures has said “are those black beans?” No, my friends. These are unfortunately not black beans.

Thank GOD I lined the cookie sheet with tin foil. I would clearly no longer own that cookie sheet if I had not.

So here’s what happened. This recipe says to mix brown sugar, white sugar, and cinnamon, dredge the chickpeas, then to cook them at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. 40 minutes. As the recipe says, I put them in at 375 degrees. I stirred it at 20 minutes. Then, when I checked it at 30 minutes, to make sure they hadn’t burned AS THE RECIPE ASKS ME TO DO, I ended up with that.

As smoke poured out of my oven and I ran to open all of the windows and doors and turn on the fans, my poor husband stood for 15 minutes covering the smoke detector with a tupperware container.

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Jennings & Ryan are mother/daughter, and love to cook. And look at Pinterest. So we thought...Why not? At least one Pinterest recipe, with photos and a review, every day for a year. What could go wrong?